Construction starts in Dallas-Fort Worth were down by more than 14% in 2023.
While it technically represents a drop, the region was coping with matching a massive year for building in 2022.
Last year, D-FW builders got underway with $14.2 billion of commercial and apartment projects, according to estimates from Dodge Construction Network, which powers Dodge Data & Analytics.
2022 saw $16.4 billion in activity in comparison, a figure that was a 48% spike over 2021 figures and more than double of 2020′s.
The decline in activity is tied to the escalation of interest rates and constricted lending. That is expected to be the narrative in 2024 once again, bolstered additionally by the uncertainty that tends to plague presidential election years.
North Texas’ activity last year was still good enough for second nationwide behind New York City. New York and D-FW were Nos. 1 and 2 respectively in 2022.
For D-FW, multifamily building dropped by 18% in 2023, while commercial starts slumped by 11%.
Dodge attributed the commercial losses to a decline in parking structures in part.
Commercial starts across the U.S. were down about 11% year over year with nearly $384 billion in total activity.
Work-from-home trends continue to impact not only office projects being built, but also the ancillary services, such as shops and restaurants, constructed to support workers in those environments.
For its research, Dodge includes office buildings, stores, hotels, warehouses, commercial garages and multifamily housing.
